


Battle Scars

by Tahrovinlaat_Hi_Neh_Koraav



Series: Tales from the Nexus [5]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout (Video Games), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Discord: IronStrange Haven, F/M, Feels, I hate writing my chronic pain babies in more pain, I swear, IronStrange Bingo 2019, M/M, Multi, Next prompt will be a happy one, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Tony Whump, Wayward Magic, Whump, all the feels, stephen whump, this physically hurt to write, worst memory sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 13:59:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18367445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahrovinlaat_Hi_Neh_Koraav/pseuds/Tahrovinlaat_Hi_Neh_Koraav
Summary: A wayward spell from an enemy plunges Tony and Stephen into each others' worst memory... or memories. Stephen's is about what you expect... Tony's, not so much.SECOND ENTRY INTO THE IRONSTRANGE BINGO 2019PROMPT - WHUMPCAN TAKE PLACE ANYTIME AFTER CHAPTER 33





	Battle Scars

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second entry into the IronStrange Bingo, 2019!
> 
> The prompt was 'whump'! 
> 
> ... Oh Norns, I need to go curl up for a while and just... I need happy feels and about five pounds worth of chocolate.

The doors to the Medical Wing slammed open with a resounding ‘thud’ as James and Minowa burst through them carrying Stephen and Tony respectively. The unconscious duo was gently set down on a bed together, and the assassin pulled his lover into his arms as Bridget surged into movement, slinging Restoration spells left and right. “ _ What happened _ ?” The mage barked in an authoritative tone as the rest of the team came through the doors as well. 

 

Aria hissed as her husbands helped her sit in a nearby chair, propping her ankle up on another. “The guy we were fighting-- The Controller-- he hit them with some kind of magical mumbo jumbo, dunno what it was supposed to do--  _ don’t even think about it, Bridget Ivorsen! _ ” She snapped in a loud, sharp voice as the woman moved to approach her at the sight of her swollen ankle and foot. “My foot will keep, but if you don’t concentrate your full effort on figuring out how to wake them up, I  _ will  _ pop a cap in your knee!” Her husbands quickly hushed and comforted her as the blond got back to work, Ulysses moving to rub and massage her shoulders as Craig retrieved an ice pack. 

 

A soft whistle escaped Dorian as he passed his husband a low-grade pain reliever potion for the abrasion down his arm. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Aria threaten to shoot any of us before! Must be the pain talking.” 

 

“Or the worry,” Zevrael added as he knocked the potion back, a sigh of relief escaping him as the scrape healed completely within the course of several seconds. 

 

Logan approached them all at that moment, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Just got off the phone with Lokes. He needs to let Laura know what’s going on, but he’ll be over as soon as possible. Also told Wade what’s happening, he’ll pull Rem, Pete, Slei, and Jör aside to talk to them and reassure them. Holly thinks it would be best to not let the younger kids know quite yet.” 

 

A sudden cry of “ _ Antonio!! _ ” drew everyone’s attention, Emma flying into the room with a distraught look on her face. “Is he alright??” 

 

Bruce approached the beds with two IV bags, a grim look on his face and a flicker of green in his eyes. “Tony and Stephen got hit by some kind of spell-- we don’t know what kind, and we’re not sure what the effect was. They’ve both been knocked unconscious, though, we can’t seem to get through to them.” 

 

“Let me try! My telepathy-- I might be able to reach him!”

 

“ **_Don’t_ ** .” The sudden thundering voice stopped everyone in their tracks as they turned to stare at James. The assassin slowly released Alduin, who turned to face the brunette woman with a stern look in his black and crimson eyes. “ **We have no idea as to the nature of the spell he used-- if it is affecting them both in the same way simultaneously, there is a chance you could be sucked into the influence as well.** **_Zeymahu_ ** **would send us to the Soul Cairn if we allowed any harm to come to you.** ” Icy-blue eyes filled with tears, even as the woman nodded her agreement. 

 

After a moment, several voices called in unison, “ _ Uncle Al? _ ” The Stepford Cuckoos crept forward from where they’d slunk in through the door, standing behind their mother and looking up at the male. “ _ Uncle Tony and Uncle Stephen are going to be okay, right? _ ” 

 

The  _ dovah _ blinked for a moment at the title the girls had given him before a deep, rumbling sigh escaped him, and he gestured the blonds forward. Once they were close enough, he hugged each one individually, kissing their foreheads in a comforting gesture. “ **Rest assured,** **_Diibriinahkine_ ** **, we will do everything in our power to make sure they come back to us. I would ask that you follow the same instructions I just gave your mother, however. I will not risk your health and safety in an effort to bring them back.** ” The Cuckoos sniffed and nodded, gathering around the male to huddle against him. Slit-pupiled eyes raised to Emma, who was still tearful but now smiling with gratitude towards him. Alduin gestured her towards them as well, and the brunette joined in on the group hug without hesitation. 

 

Bridget shot them a smile before the sound of Loki’s voice drew her eyes to the side. “Alright, what’s going on?” The ebony-haired god rolled up the sleeves of his emerald green turtleneck in preparation. After receiving a quick overview of the situation, Loki began casting spells of his own, and after a few minutes, he hissed with a small flinch. “I’ve identified the spell, but the implications…” He pulled his magic away, running his fingers through his own hair. “It’s mental magic, meant to take two people closely connected to each other in some way and force them to relive the other’s worst memory, or memories if it revolves around multiple.”

 

A choked noise escaped James, who closed his eyes at the news. “ _ Bozhe moy _ , after what they both have been through? How do you even  _ pick _ ?? I would imagine Stephen’s would involve his car accident... ” 

 

Emma had a hand covering her mouth, a look of utter horror and fear on her face. “I was there for Antonio after certain things-- Afghanistan, Stane, Whiplash, AIM… New York… Ultron…” She closed her eyes, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks as Alduin took the chance to pull her close to comfort her. “And they have to relive it…? God help them and keep them both strong.” 

 

The group all looked at each other, grim expressions on their faces. They all knew there would be a fallout of absolutely massive proportions from this event… but none of them were looking forward to finding out exactly how deep the hurt ran in the soulmates.

 

\---

 

The entire group was quiet as cups of tea and coffee were passed around in the early hours of the next morning. Most of them had gotten no sleep, Aria only getting a few hours for the sake of letting the skele-gro do its’ work on her fractured ankle without causing her more discomfort. The mood in the room was somber, everyone glancing over towards the bed with Stephen and Tony intermittently. 

 

Finally, a sharp gasp from Stephen caught everyone’s attention at once. The sorcerer sat up straight in the bed with a look on his face that was anguished and heartbroken in a way they’d never seen. Bridget and Loki shot each other a quick look before slowly approaching him, drawing his tear-filled blue-green eyes to them. “What the  _ fuck _ was that?” He finally croaked, throat tight and voice cracking. 

 

Bridget swallowed before slowly replying, “You and Tony… you were hit with some kind of magic that forced you to relive Tony’s worst experience… or experiences, depending on what they were.” 

 

To their surprise, Stephen went  _ deathly _ pale as his eyes snapped to where the genius was still lying prone next to him. “Tell me he isn’t reliving  _ mine _ !” Getting stunned nods from the duo, he made a horrified, desperate noise before he was repositioning them both in a flurry of movement so they were face-to-face. Before they could ask what he was doing, he pressed his forehead to Tony’s, the Eye of Agamotto around his neck opening and beginning to glow and pulse a bit. The genius’ body suddenly lit up with a brilliant orange glow for a second before it shattered outwards, Tony coming to in the same moment with a cry that chilled the blood of everyone in the room. 

 

Stephen sighed with relief as he pulled Tony into his arms, the brunette man collapsing into him and curling up in a ball as he began to sob uncontrollably. “I know, I  _ know _ babe, I’m sorry, I’m so,  _ so _ sorry,” The sorcerer choked out with tears of his own rolling down his face as he tried to comfort the distraught man. 

 

“H-He  _ killed  _ you!” Tony wailed in a broken voice, prompting sharp inhales from everyone in the room. His was clinging so tightly to Stephen’s robes that the knuckles of his fingers were white. “He killed you again and again, and you just kept going back, and I couldn’t make it stop, couldn’t  _ save you _ \--!” 

 

“It’s over, love, I’m still here, I’m still alive,” Stephen reassured him, maneuvering them both so Tony’s ear was pressed to his chest right over his heart, hoping the beat would help ground the man he loved so dearly. He ran his fingers through the brown locks under his chin as the genius continued to sob and babble a little, though it was beginning to slow now that he had something else to focus on. 

 

The others in the room looked at each other in complete and utter silence, tears in more than a few eyes. Though none of them were willing to ask, the same question was running around in every single one of their minds:

 

_ What had Stephen gone through to warrant a reaction like this?  _

 

\---

 

“What memory did you see?”

 

Stephen looked away from his mug of tea to glance down at Tony, who was curled up in his lap with a mug of his own, whiskey-brown eyes slightly distant as he asked the question. Levi was draped over both of them like a blanket, wrapping around them in a makeshift hug. The sorcerer had sling-ringed them both to their bedroom as soon as the genius was able to express the desire to be alone, and they’d been sitting in quiet for several hours at least. The question was the first he’d spoken in all that time, having been content to simply remain curled up and grounded by the solidity of Stephen’s physical presence. After a moment of quiet, Stephen sighed and put his cup to one side. “Tony, do you know the idea of ‘big T’ traumas versus ‘little t’ traumas?” Getting a negative shake of the genius’ head, he continued. “So, ‘big T’ traumas are distinguished as an extraordinary, unexpected event that leaves the victim feeling helpless, or like they have no control over their life or current situation. That includes things like natural disasters, car accidents, sexual assault, or being in an active combat zone.” He began to run his fingers through Tony’s hair as he continued. “What you went through in Afghanistan, Siberia, Bucharest, the events with Stane, AIM, and whiplash, they would all count. But I didn’t see those.” He pressed a kiss to Tony’s hair. “Instead… I got countless memories of ‘little T’ traumas. I…” He took a deep breath to center himself. “I had to watch Rogers, Maximoff-- your whole  _ team _ \-- berate, belittle, and demean you over and over and  _ over  _ again, and I felt how every time it was like a knife to your gut and another sliver shaved off of your self-esteem.” The sorcerer wrapped his arms around his genius, burying his nose in his hair as he trembled a bit. “Vishanti, what they said and did to you-- don’t you  _ dare  _ believe a word of it, Anthony Edward Stark, you are a brilliant, kind, compassionate man, and you deserve the world! I wish I’d been here back then, I would never have let them say that shit--!”

 

Tony floated his own mug to the bedside table before turning to bury his face in his soulmate’s shoulder, feeling wetness on the top of his head as tears of frustration and shared pain began falling from Stephen’s eyes. Of all the things for Stephen to have experienced… he hadn’t realized that what the Rogues had said and done had inflicted so much emotional damage to him. Thinking back, though, it made sense. Between his father being an outright abusive asshole, Obadiah building him up for the purpose of using him, being used over and over again… Yep, definitely made sense now. He let Stephen hold him for a while before he pulled away a bit to gently press a kiss to the man’s lips. “I’m not okay… but I will be.” He admitted to his soulmate, whiskey brown eyes filled with tears even as a spark of hope flickered in them. 

 

“I know you will be. You’re so strong, Tony, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” Stephen pulled him forward to rest their foreheads together, remaining quiet for a few seconds before speaking again. “I don’t need to ask what you saw.” 

 

The hitch in Tony’s breath was audible, especially loud in the relative quiet of the room. “You pulled me out in the middle of it…” His voice cracked towards the end, beginning to tremble as the memory surfaced again. “How many times, Stephen?” 

 

“Tony--”

 

“ _ How many times did Dormammu kill you, Stephen? _ ”

 

Absolute silence filled the room for several seconds as whiskey brown bore into blue-green. Finally, the sorcerer swallowed and closed his eyes. “I don’t know the exact number… I stopped counting after 1000,” He whispered.

 

The genius’ breath caught, agony lancing through his being. “I just saw a few hundred-- He killed you--?!”

 

Stephen’s eyes snapped to Tony, horror filling his eyes. “You felt that many?! No, baby, you should never have-- Vishanti,” He pulled Tony against his chest again, tears beginning anew in both men, “I was going to tell you eventually, but I never wanted you to  _ experience _ any of it!” 

 

“--I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I couldn’t save you--”

 

Neither man got any sleep that night, the tears not stopping long enough to allow for such. 

 

Neither man was okay in that moment… but deep down, they knew they would be. 

**Author's Note:**

> Diibriinahkine - My nieces. A combination of briinah, sister, and kin, children. 
> 
> I... yeah, I got nothin'. Sorry, not sorry, it was a square and it needed to be filled. 
> 
> ... I think I need love. Like, I need a hug and a warm blanket.


End file.
